In 1867, Aleksej Melnikov, an engineer, specialist in railway building, and general, who had arrived to Vilnius to build a railway Petersburg-Vilnius, bought the Markuchiai estate and started building a new summer cottage (now the building of A. Pushkin‘s Literary museum). It was finished in the year 1868. When in the year 1875 Varvara Melnikova was marrying to Vasily Moshkov, A.Melnikov presented to her the Markuchiai estate as a dowry. After divorcing V. Moshkov and marrying to Grigory Pushkin (in 1883), Varvara returned to Markuchiai only in 1899. At the Markuchiai estate, she with her husband Grigory lived till death. Their dwelling house – the museum building, with the exception of a masonry extension and some elements of decoration, has left unchanged till these days. When still living in Michailovskoje, Grigory and Varvara Pushkins placed an order to Vilnius craftsmen for manufacturing furniture for their farm-stead in Markuchiai. Most of them had been made from oaks of Vilnius environs. They were adorned with Pushkin family‘s emblems and Varvara Pushkina‘s initials. They have remained whole and are exhibited in a museum‘s memorial exposition, in which the authentic way of life of Vilnius landlords of the XIX c end – XX c beginning was preserved. In one of exposition rooms – A.Pushkin‘s corner – a small card-table and two upholstered in green velvet armchairs that belonged to the poet Alexander Pushkin, brought by Grigory and Varvara from Michailovskoje, are kept. Walls of that room have been upholstered with linen, embroidered by serf girls from Michailovskoje (a copy created by Vilnius textile craftsmens after the fashion of preserved patterns). There are 21 books of A. Pushkin‘s works, published when he was alive, stored in a redwood bookcase. It‘s a real treasure, because only 34 books had been published during the poet‘s life. There are also exhibited V. Pushkina‘s painted pictures and her appliqué works, family photos.
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